Only 302 health care facilities earned the designation. A record 590 health care facilities actively participated in the HEI 2017 survey. The HRC Foundation also proactively researched key policies at more than 900 non-participating hospitals.

"UW Health is committed to be a national leader in diversity and inclusion," said UW Health CEO Dr. Alan Kaplan. "I’m happy to say that our organization has met the standards for this honor for several years, even as those standards have become more stringent."

"All three UW Health locations were granted leader status," said Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, chief diversity officer for UW Health. "We are honored by the recognition. We strive every day to provide inclusive care for our LGBTQ patients and families."

The 10th edition of the HEI implements new criteria that raise the bar on what it takes to earn HRC’s "Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality" designation.

For the first time, HEI participants are given scores in four criteria that represent how many policies and best practices from each section they have implemented:

Foundational elements of LGBTQ patient-centered care

LGBTQ patient services and support

employee benefits and policies

LGBTQ patient and community engagement.

Participants that receive the maximum score in each section for a total score of 100 points earn the coveted status of "2017 Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality."

"The 2017 HEI reminds us again that though we have made tremendous gains over the past decade, there is still much more work left for us to do. With some of our biggest battles still ahead of us, it is crucial that institutions continue to demonstrate that the march toward full equality is not slowing down," said HRC President Chad Griffin.

"The 590 participants in this year’s HEI continue this march in partnership with the LGBTQ community," Griffin said. "For the past decade, the HEI has been the roadmap to closing the gap in ensuring equal care to LGBTQ patients and their families, and we urge every health care facility to join us in this continuing effort to provide inclusive care to all."

In the 2017 report, an impressive 302 facilities - 51 percent of those actively participating in the survey - met the more challenging criteria to earn this designation. Another 145 facilities earned the "Top Performer" designation for scoring from 80 to 95 points. With 76 percent of actively participating facilities scoring 80 points or more, it is clear that health care facilities are going beyond the basics in adopting policies and practices in LGBTQ care.

Of the hospitals who did not participate in the HEI but were scored based on research, only 61 percent have policies that include both "sexual orientation" and "gender identity," and only 52 percent were found to have an LGBTQ-inclusive employment non-discrimination policy. The equal visitation policy, at 95 percent, is the only one that comes close to matching the rate of the participating facilities.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the education arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.